Mosaic Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:MOS)

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders bought 23,118 call options on the company. Thisisanincreaseofapproximately125% compared to the typical volume of 10,281 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MOS. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price target (up from $39.00) on shares of Mosaic in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mosaic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Barclays upped their price target on Mosaic from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Mosaic from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Mosaic from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.42.

Mosaic Price Performance

MOS stock opened at $32.42 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $34.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.59. Mosaic has a 1 year low of $22.36 and a 1 year high of $38.23. The stock has a market cap of $10.29 billion, a PE ratio of 10.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Mosaic had a net margin of 8.35% and a return on equity of 4.74%. Mosaic’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Mosaic will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mosaic Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.83%.

Institutional Trading of Mosaic

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MOS. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Mosaic by 172.5% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 684 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mosaic in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bangor Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Mosaic during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Mosaic by 169.3% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 956 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in Mosaic in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors own 77.54% of the company’s stock.

About Mosaic

The Mosaic Company, through its subsidiaries, produces and markets concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients in North America and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Phosphates, Potash, and Mosaic Fertilizantes. It owns and operates mines, which produce concentrated phosphate crop nutrients, such as diammonium phosphate, monoammonium phosphate, and ammoniated phosphate products; and phosphate-based animal feed ingredients primarily under the Biofos and Nexfos brand names, as well as produces a double sulfate of potash magnesia product under K-Mag brand name.